A brain-based model for collaborating with and influencing others

Studies in neuroscience have long shown that the main drivers for survival trigger a physical response to minimise threat or maximise reward. More recent findings suggest that the same brain networks used to initiate the primary survival techniques are also used to ‘switch on’ those for social behaviour.

The SCARF model and human interaction

David Rock, co-founder of the NeuroLeadership Institute(1), reports in the NeuroLeadership Journal (2) on a brain-based model for collaborating with and influencing others. Properly used, it can be put to good effect by improving people’s ability to work together. In this world of increasingly dysfunctional communication, the SCARF model can be a great aid for coaches working in either organisational settings or private relationships.

The five dimensions of SCARF

The SCARF model involves the 5 dimensions of human social exposure: Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness and Fairness. Labelling these domains allows conscious awareness of otherwise unconscious processes, enabling recognition, understanding, and modification of the social domains that drive human behaviour.

Status refers to the relative positioning of the self among others. Certainty is a measure of confidence in the future, Autonomy is one of independence and authority over events, Relatedness concerns the quality of relationships with others, and Fairness is a measure of an individual’s sense of ‘fair-play’ in relation to and with others.

Applying the SCARF model in coaching

An understanding of the brain networks that trigger our social behaviour and a greater appreciation of the dimensions of human social behaviour allows us an opportunity to influence the environment, to facilitate change to more positive behaviours. 

References:

• NeuroLeadershipJournal Issue 1 2008